More Than Bread

Send me a Text Message!If we look at Jesus' example we would have to say that of all his names, Father is God's favorite.  In the Old Testament God was called Father, only 7x.  Jesus refers to God as Father 17x in the Sermon on the Mount alone! The gospels record over 200x's that Jesus called God Father. God's our Father. In Jesus day, those words were  revolutionary. Never before had that been the primary way of viewing God, but it shaped everything Jesus said and did, especially his prayer life.  And then this amazing thing happens, he passes it on to us. "Not only my Father," Jesus says, "your Father. He's your Abba, Papa, Daddy God." Prayer may at times be more than, but it will never be less than an on-going and on-growing personal relationship with your Father God. So climb up on his lap and pray!

Send me a Text Message!Listen God is so good. I understand, every tragedy, every hurt, every funeral and every divorce; every disappointment seems to be marketing for unanswered prayer and unanswered prayers cause us to question the limits of God's goodness. But God's goodness has no limits. Not only can He help you, He wants to help you. Now I have to be honest, there are some prayers He will never answer, because He has something better in mind for us. But as we go back to Luke 18, we are going to see that there is a prayer, we can pray, that God will always answer...and quickly."God give me justice over my adversary." Now that prayer may not mean what you think it means, so you should listen and then pray!

Send me a Text Message!In Luke 18, Jesus tells a story with a meaning, often called a parable. But in this case, Jesus starts with the "why," the meaning.  Often when Jesus told a parable,he wouldn't give the why. He wanted the listeners to grapple with the meaning without being fed the answer. But in this case, the why of the story is so important that Jesus tells it up front. "Don't miss this." He's saying. "I'm going to tell you a story and I want the story to always remind you of the fact that we should alwayspray and never give up. Never forget this. Always pray. Never give up.Basically Jesus is repeating a message we find over and over again in the Bible. "Don't lose heart." When it comes to prayer, find something good to pray for and then don't stop. Don't lose heart!

Send me a Text Message!We are God's children. We are not God's friends. We are not God's neighbors. We're His kids. That's what Jesus was teaching about prayer and that's why He said, "When you pray, say Father." Nobody else called God father. Jesus said, "When you pray say Father." Smtms we make prayer so complicated. There are depths to prayer that I may never fully explore or understand. But there is also meant to be a simplicity and an ease to prayer that is the ease of a kid coming to daddy. Papa God. Stop tryng to earn it.  We don't come into His presence because we earn it.  We come in because He loves us. We come in because it's home and you are His kid!

Send me a Text Message!Make no mistake Jesus wants the church to be a place of active, life-giving service and overflowing worship. He  wants it to be a community of grace and truth.  But few things move his heart like prayer. That's why I imagine a smile came to his face one day when one of his disciples came to him. Jesus had been out praying.  In fact it wouldn't surprise me if Jesus had been praying for his disciples, something like, "Father, help them. Sometimes they just don't get it. Father I want prayer to matter to them. I want being with you to matter to them, like it matters to me. So I imagine Jesus' smile when I read Luke 11:1, "Once when Jesus had been out praying, one of his disciples came to him as he finished and said, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." I think that's a prayer that we should never stop praying, "Jesus teach me to pray!"

Send me a Text Message!When it comes to prayer, I'm not sure what you are asking for, what you are seeking, or who you are asking Jesus to open the door for, but what if, Jesus message to you in this episode is simply this. Don't quit asking. Don't stop seeking.Keep on knocking." The open door is coming.  Especially don't give up on someone you've been praying for...      Remember, when we pass judgement on someone, what are we doing? We're writing them off. We're giving up on-em. See in Jesus' Kingdom instead of giving up on people, we're gonna pray for people. Instead of writing them off, we're going to lift them up. Instead of telling them they can go to hell...we're gonna ask Jesus to bring heaven to them. Why? Because we want to be part of a move of God that loves people all the way to Jesus and because prayer really matters.

Send me a Text Message!I think if I lived in the days of Pharisees and Scribes, when I heard Jesus say, "Unless your righteousness exceeds the guys who do it for a living..." I would have heard, "Unless your righteousness goes to infinity and beyond, unless you get more righteous than you ever imagined you could be, you might as well forget it." But that's not Jesus message. Jesus wasn't just looking for a quantity of  righteousness, He was looking for quality of righteousness. He was looking for a different heart, that would love different.He was looking for people who didn't major in rules and regulations, but rather lived and loved different, against the flow. I hope by the end of this episode, you'll have that challenge in your mind. Let's live different!

Send me a Text Message!Tsaddaqim? What is that babbling? It's the Hebrew word for the "Righteous Ones." The next part of Jesus' teaching is all about the righteous ones. Who are the righteous ones? According to Jesus it wasn't the pharisees and the scribes (the proffesionally religious people). In this episode we'll unpack it with a look back at Isaiah's description of the righteous ones. Stuff like: Your light will break forth (sound familiar) and your gloom will be as bright as the noonday. When you call God will answer. He'll satisfy your deepest desires. In fact your life will be like a well-watered garden!Isaiah's words are spoken to broken people. But when God shows up, it's good news for broken people. It's good news because His love is amazing and He calls us to love like that. It's a whole different perspective on righteousness and it makes me want to be able to answer "YES!" to the question, "Are you a Tsaddaqim?" 

Send me a Text Message!You are the light of the world. And God has no other plan for the darkness. That's it.  No other plan.  Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit fills us up, we will have the power to become his witnesses. In other words, we will shine, and that's the plan;  the only plan, no back-up plan b. There are people in your neighborhood who are living in darkness. Paul said in Acts in 17:26-27, that God has set the times and the boundaries of where we live. Why? In the hope that when people seek God, that when they grope for God in the darkness, they will find him.And how do we let our light shine? By doing good deeds that reflect well on our Father in Heaven. Are you a do-gooder? 

Send me a Text Message!You are the light of the world. Isn't that amazing? Do you understand?  We're here to shine.  To be generous with our lives and do good deeds which shine the light on Jesus. You've heard this phrase before, but you may be the only Jesus that people ever see. What do they see when they see you? Think about the last few days, the last week, when people saw you, what did they see? How about in your home; or at church? What does your boss see at work? How about our neighbors, that one that's struggling with cancer, or the elderly wife caring for her husband with alzheimer's and her kids live out of state and sometimes she sits at night,  wondering if she can make it through one more day without help. What did they see in us?  Did we bring light to their darkness? I think Jesus' words are a call, a reminder that it's time to shine!

Send me a Text Message!All my life I have been attracted to the overflow, without walls principles and  stories in the Bible. One of my all time favorite prayers in the Bible is Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3 which ends with these words, "Now to God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all you ask for or can even imagine." That is sowithout walls! Jesus lived a life without walls; a life where just a touch can heal aheart; a life where forgiveness brings freedom and service brings joy; a life where tombs become wombs for second chances. But in so many ways, we live our lives within walls and end up disconnected from each other, from God and from life. Sometimes we build walls because it seems safe, but it's really just lonely. One of the ways we build walls is when we judge. That's what this one is all about! 

Send me a Text Message!"You are the salt of the earth." Those are Jesus' words. Think about this, when salt is working, you can't see it. Where are you being salt? Salt-work is annymous acts of kindness. It's backstage work that doesn't mind missing the applause of the crowds; It's working hard and speaking the truth..in love; It's befriending someone who doesn't deserve a friend. It's being real, even when you think no-one's  watching. Salt work is living proof of a loving God. Salt work is simply what happens when a transformed heart comes into contact with others. So where are you being the salt of the earth? Our world desperately needs more salt!

Send me a Text Message!We need more than bread to thrive. Jesus said that we need every word that comes from the mouth of God! We need more than food-stuff for our stomachs,  more than comfort-stuff, more than significance stuff; we even need more than  relational stuff in order to thrive. A live that thrives will involve a live that is  continually feeding on the words of God. And remember, eating God's words  involves more than listening and learning. Both listening and learning are  important, but they are incomplete until we lean in. Leaning in, is the place where we become do-ers of the word and not hearers only. It's the place where our lives change by the power of the Spirit in partnership with the Word of God. In this episode, I'm challenging us to consider leaning in by asking God to take us out of the center of our lives, so that we can be a blessing to those around us. 

Send me a Text Message!We've been talking about the beatitudes as a pathway to God's blessings. The blessings of God found in the Kingdom of God are amazing, but they rarely come easy. They require a "don't quit grit" that says, no matter what I'm going for it. And it all starts with "Blessed are the poor in Spirit." Blessed are the desperate, the begging poor in spirit. If you are poor in spirit, desperately broken, barely hanging on to a thin rope of hope, blessed are you. If you don't quit, blessing is on the way. When Jesus came on the scene announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven was here, the people understood him to say, "It's a new day. I know life has been hard, oppression, poverty, crucifixions every day. But listen, don't quit; a new day is dawning!"That's my hope and message in this episode. Don't quit, don't you dare quit!

Send me a Text Message!In the last episode, you listened to my message on worry. Well it was actually Jesus' message on trusting God so that we don't worry. But there is a six word challenge in Jesus' words on worry, and it's a challenge that we didn't uncover in the last episode. We'll probably  hit these six words again in a future message, but they are so important, so before we go back to our review of chapter 5 and being the light of the world, I just want to give you this six word challenge that is so vital to a non-anxious, worry-free life; "Seek first the kingdom of God."Seek first the Kingdom of God. Make that Kingdom your first thing and listen, there can only be one "first" thing!

Send me a Text Message!At Calvary this last weekend, we dove deep into the subject of worry and we celebrated communion. You might be surprised how much those two are woven together. You know as I was working on this message, something occured to me. As we look at the whole of Jesus' mountain top message, the beatitudes take up 8 verses. Reconciliation and forgiveness gets 7 verses' adultery and divorce 6 verses. Prayer is really important, it shows up twice and in total gets 14 verses. Giving gets 7 and judging 6.  Worry gets 10 verses and they aren't short!As Jesus lays out his vision for a new Kingdom...one which gets a lot of his time is worry. Basically he's saying, "In my Kingdom, life can be lived...worry-free." Do you believe that? 

Send me a Text Message!There is a booklet which has been used by God to lead many people to believe in Jesus. It's called the "The Four Spiritual Laws." Maybe you've read it. The first law is this, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." I believe that law is true, especially looking back. But what if the flip-side is also true? God loves you and has a difficult plan for your life.Not too many Xtian best-sellers incorporate that into their title.  Not too many songs about the God who plans to make our lives difficult; and if he really loves us and is really pleased by us...well get ready for really difficult. But perhaps that's what Jesus meant when he said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted..." Don't skip this one...just because you don't like the title. :)

Send me a Text Message!As we come to the last of eight beatitudes we arrive at what I call the “Thanks-No-Thanks” beatitude. And listen I'm not saying that Jesus saved the best for last, I even hesitate to say that it's the most important blessing, because they are all so important. Remember it's a process, and as a journey, all the steps are necessary. But this one, #8, in our world today, it's so key that understand it's a step to becoming the light of the world. We cannot shrink back from this last step, if we want to be part of Jesus' Kingdom-Story. And as you listen, listen for the challenge that will help us persevere in persecution. It will come in the form of a prayer. "God cross out the "I" in my life." 

Send me a Text Message!Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will resemble their Father in heaven. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will remind people of their big brother Jesus. Are you a peacemaker? Is the family resemblance growing? Take a moment and think of a hard relationship; someone who has hurt you, disappointed you. Do you look like Jesus to them? Will a point come when they can say to you...this is what I want to hear people say to me: "I see Father God's face in you. I see Jesus' heart in you. I see the fullness of the Spirit in you."I mean, is there anything the world needs more than peacemakers in this moment?

Send me a Text Message!What do we need more in our world right now, than peace? We are so quick to draw lines, so easily prodded into conflict. We need peace. I think everyone is seeking it, but few attain it, and keeping it is all too rare. But here's the problem; we have difficulty finding peace, because we are looking for peace in the absence.  That's how we define peace, right? Peace comes from absence; the absence of noise or the absence of storms, or conflict. But when Jesus talked about peace, he had in mind the Hebrew word shalom. Shalom is well-being in the widest sense of the word. Shalom is the blessing of God whch sums up all other blessings. Shalom is more about fullness than emptiness. Let's stop looking for peace in the absence and start seeking His fullness. Peace doesn't come from absence...

Send me a Text Message!Perhaps the first step to purity is seeking God. As we seek God, we come near to Him, and discover how much He loves us and our hearts  begin to burn for Him. In fact to be pure in heart Soren Kierkegaard said is to want one thing, to be undivided.  Or we have said it this way, "To be pure in heart is to have an unrestrained affection for God.  So let me ask you what is restraining your affection for God? When God comes close, He begins to burn away the junk that is restraining our affection for Him. But don't expect the burning to be entirely comfortable. He is a refiner's fire. It has to happen to prepare the way, prepare our hearts. It's not optional so, so we have to decide, when God comes close, will I let the fire burn?

Send me a Text Message!So let me ask you, when it comes to purity, what images come to your mind? What images, what thoughts, what emotions come to mind and heart when I say that we are diving again into purity?  There is a call to purity woven throughout scripture. It's all over the place. Let me tell you upfront. The primary issue of purity is where am i seeking life? If I primarily seek life in my job, or in friends, or in the adrenaline rush of adventure, or in my marriage, or in the weekend, or in success, or in accumulating all the stuff my hands can hold, sooner or later my quest will lead to an impure heart. Where am I seeking life?

Send me a Text Message!Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. I want to see God. I believe that our world today desperately needs people who seek and see God.  Jesus said that the pure in heart will see God. The purity of heart that He is seeking is both a quality of heart and a quantity of heart. In this episode, we will dive a bit into the idea of a quantity of heart. In the Greek the word for purity in Matthew 5:8 is the Greek word Katharsos. It literally means "unmixed." For example 100% pure gold is unmixed gold. A pure heart is not only sinless. It is also single; it desires one thing.Pure hearts are 100% all-in for Christ. It is not just obedience, it is passion. At the end of episode, I'll ask you to fill in the blank of the sentence, "I am devoted to God and _________. What goes in the blank for you? How much of your heart's passion is preoccupied with the blank?

Send me a Text Message!Mercy is what Erika Kirk showed last weekend at the memorial for her husband  Charlie. The choice to forgive is mercy in action. And in so many ways from my  perspective it was the highlight, the most holy moment of the memorial. I closed  the last episode with the question, "Does our mercy show?" And I challenged you  to take a survey, find out people's perceptions of Xtians?" If you haven't done that yet, you should. Some labels will be unfair. But listen carefully to how rarely our pictures are painted with the brushstrokes of grace and mercy. I wonder if the Spirit might be saying in this moment; "Let your mercy show?" So in this episode, we will look at a mercy-story of Jesus that leaves me with the question, "Am I a mercy-giver?"

Send me a Text Message!I am so in need of mercy. Have you ever felt that way? I think that's why..actually I know that's why I love this next step in the blessed life. It's the mercy blessing. Blessed are those who are merciful for they will be shown mercy. In some ways I think this is the first "blessed are" that really reveals the heart of God. The Mercy-Blessing describes the heart of Father God. Christ is what mercy does. I mean God's not really poor in spirit. He's not broken or desperate. God doesn't mourn, or if He does it's a temporary response to the brokenness of the world, but it's not who he is. The meek are meek because they have no strength but God is omnipotent. God doesn't hunger for righteousness. He is righteousness. But mercy? Oh my goodness, that's who God is. Mercy in one of God's most fundatmental attributes. In this episode we will dive into the Mercy-Blessing!

Send me a Text Message!So this episode, isn't current. I didn't preach at Calvary last week, I was visiting my mom and dad and celebrating my niece's wedding. In fact, might even be on my way home as you listen to this. So this isn't actually last weekend's sermon at Calvary, but in the past I have preached on Matthew 6:19-24. It is a crucial passage, so here is a message I gave from a couple of years ago. It hits the themes of generosity and simplicity and how those practices will help us get our hearts ready for home... AND ready to thrive now!So we are keeping the rhythm of back and forth between Matthew 5 and Matthew 6. The next episode will get us back to the beatitudes.

Send me a Text Message!In the last episode we ended with the question, "What is righteousness?" Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. So what is righteousness? That's a key question right? I know what food is and I hunger for it. I know what success is, I have hungered for it, along with friendship and affirmation. But what is this righteousness that we should hunger for? We're going to deepen our definition of righteousness as we look at the beatitudes as not just a listing of eight different blessings, but as a pathway, a process for finding a life that thrives, a Kingdom-Life. So are you hungry for life? If you are, let's dive in!

Send me a Text Message!The beatitude for today is, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied." So the question that I will ask us is "Are you living a satisfied life?" Are you satisfied with what you have? But for the purpose of the notes here, I'm going to print the prayer I close with, just in case you want to pray for more than you have.  It's a prayer from A. W. Tozer; the response of a heart with a deep longing for God. O God, I have tasted Your goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am  ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want you. I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Your glory, I pray that I may know You indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me.  Say to my soul ‘Rise up my love and come away.' Then give me the grace to rise and follow You, up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' Name, Amen. Oh and...in episode #11, I called us to a season of fasting and prayer. In my weekly newsletter I included a guide for this season. If you would like it, and don't get my weekly email, you can email me at dan@calvarysc.org ---

Send me a Text Message!Jesus' mountain-top message is a blueprint for a life that thrives. And as I've been studying it this time around, I've also run into a number of pastors and theologians who think of the Sermon on the Mount as basic training for people heading into a spiritual battle. Knowing what his followers were going to face in the days and years to come Jesus took them on the mountain and said, “This is how you fight my battles.” Blessed are the meek. Not much like any battle strategy we'd consider on our own, but I believe it's crucial to understanding how we need to respond to the spiritual battle in our days. And there is a spiritual battle taking place!So the question for this episode is, "Are you seeking meek?"

Send me a Text Message!Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth! Be honest, when is the last time you prayed for meek? Are you seeking meek? What comes to mind when you paint a picture of meek? Well meek is weak right? Blessed are the weak for they shall become the doormats of life and everyone will walk all over them. In fact Webster defines meek as TOO submissive. Blessed are the spineless, for they never stick up for their rights. Blessed are those who never take a stand. Webster calls them spiritless and deficient in courage. But Jesus calls them blessed.Perhaps as much or maybe even more so than a heart that leans toward mourning today, we need a heart that leans towards meek. But maybe, meek is a bit different from what we think? Maybe it really is true, mighty are the meek.

Send me a Text Message!Hey Folks, for those of you who download early, sorry this is coming a little bit late. It's the message from yesterday (Sunday) on Matthew 6 and it's all about fasting. Fasting focuses our hunger on Jesus. Fasting is a humble cry for Jesus. Fasting is a hopeful cry for more. But I also believe that there is a sense of urgency that fasting brings, that is desperately needed in our times. We need a heart that urgently desires more God, now, for us and others! We are hungry for more, sometimes we just don't realize it.

Send me a Text Message!Have you ever asked God to give you tears? There is so much pain and suffering and brokenness in the world today. But do we mourn for the brokenness? Perhaps we need to pray that God would help us be tenderly moved.  When we die and stand before Jesus and he asks us, "How did you feel about the suffering around you?" What will you say? Jesus felt enough cmpssn for Jerusalem to weep. He wept for every broken person in Jerusalem. He wept for their loss. He wept for people broken by sexual sin and financial greed. He wept for people who didn't love their neighbors and wept for hearts filled with unforgiving bitterness. He wept for people missing God's dreams for their lives.Blessed are those who mourn? Perhaps we need to ask God for tears. 

Send me a Text Message!When Jesus showed up, on that mountain-top, the people who gathered around were going through a time of deep darkness. While some Jewish leaders  experienced an element of prosperity and security, most of them were politically, religiously, and economically oppressed by the Roman Government. High taxes, religious restrictions, crucifixions were common. Most people knew someone who had been crucified. And then Jesus shows up.  Remember the report from the last part of Matthew 4? Jesus is proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom; healing people, exhibiting the power of God and telling people about the blessings of heaven breaking on earth. And the news spread and crowds gathered. There were crowds of people who had been broken and experienced loss and given up hope. People who wondered if God was gone and how far they werefrom the blessed life and I think Jesus was telling them, "Don't quit, you are not so far."

Send me a Text Message!Blessed are the poor in spirit, the desperate, the broken. That's Jesus' first step to the blessed life. Blessed are those with open hands because they have nothing in them. That's hard stuff.  It's not easy for me to hear.  But do you know who this is good news for? This is good news for those who are broken and desperate; for those who just don't know where to turn anymore.  I have good news for you. You are so close to a life that thrives on God's blessings. Don't try to hide your brokenness just because the world can't see that it's the first step on a path to true life. Surrender to the King. Open your empty hands and receive heaven's blessings.I am broken and blessed? Well if not yet, you are so close!

Send me a Text Message!As we dive into the beatitudes, we immediately run into the word "Blessed." The word is used 9x's in the first 11 verses of the Sermon on the Mount. The Living Bible translates it, "fortunate, or happy."  Eugene Peterson in The Message uses the word "lucky."  What is the essence of lucky?  It's getting something you don't deserve.  In the Greek language, the word blessed is the word makairos. How do you describe, the blessed life? Makairos? What 2 or 3 things would you like to happen in your life, where if they happened, you would consider yourself "makairos."  Blessed? What is the blessed life? (And how do we get it?)

Send me a Text Message!At Calvary we are currently making our way through Matthew 6-7, it's the last series of three that we are doing on Jesus mountain-top sermon. So every 5th episode of this series will by the teaching that I just gave the day before this episode drops. So it's also a bit longer than the other episodes.In this episode, we are doing two things... painting a picture of God as our Father and making the challenge to live our one and only lives for Him, the One, our Father in Heaven! Live for ONE!

Send me a Text Message!Jesus' sermon on the mountain connects the gospel with the Kingdom of God. The gospel is good news and here's the deal... The Kingdom of God is good news for  everyone, even people who don't believe in Jesus. It's good news because when people get it and become Jesus-apprentices; when an outbreak of the Kingdom happens; people start loving better and serving more and surrendering deeper. It's good news for your neighbors.  It brings better Sunday afternoon tips to waiters at the Waffleshop. The Kingdom of God in you, will be good news for the people that you work with, whether they are muslims, athiests or part of the LGBTQ+ community.  In fact, if the Kingdom of God hasn't become good news to the people around you, it may not have come to you. If it isn't good news for our families, our neighbors, the people at work or school, maybe it hasn't really bcme good news for us. Because when it comes, it's good news for everyone!

Send me a Text Message!You have to understand, when Jesus came on the scene announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven was here. Now.  The people understood him to say, "It's a new day. I know life has been hard, oppression, poverty, crucifixions every day. Death  and disease are your constant companion. But listen to me, don't quit; a new day is dawning!" Something's coming; like a great light in the darkness, in the land of death's shadow a new day is dawning. It's better than you know or can even imagine. You are on the threshold of a new day that will usher in new life that is as different from what you have now as darkness is from light. Don't quit. You'll hear me say this over and over again in this episode, because I think it's at the very heart of this message. Don't you dare give up!

Send me a Text Message!You are seen, known and loved by Jesus. See in the end, the greatest blessing, the full description of the blessed life, it's not about lacking nothing, it's about having a shepherd. It's not about fearing no one, it's about having a champion. It's not about having a banquet, it's about being invited by God. It's not about having a house, it's about being part of a family.  It's about being pursued and found and loved by Jesus. It's not about having the gifts of the giver, it's about being had by the giver of the gifts and if we have nothing but we are had by God, we have everything!You are seen, known and loved by Jesus!

Send me a Text Message!I wonder if this might be true of you... "Somewhere along the way, you quit believing that God's blessing matters, or maybe you quit believing that God reallywants to bless you. But actually I believe that God wants us to be known as the people who are blessed by God. He is inviting you to get blessed! In this episode and the next, before we dive into the beatitudes, we are going to look at Psalm 23 to describe the blessed life!

Send me a Text Message!So starting today we are going to hang out in Matthew's version of Jesus' sermon on the mount. Each Monday (or if you aren't listening as they drop, every 5th episode, I'll leave you my most recent message from Calvary's teaching series going through Matthew 6-7...and in between I'll review Matthew 5...or at times given an addendum to Matthew 6-7. So anyway, the whole focus for the next 40-50 episodes well be Jesus' sermon on the mountain.This episode is all about living different!

Send me a Text Message!The book of James has some of the most amazing prayer promises and principles of prayer. But more than anything it is all about making our lives a prayer to God. The practical wisdom of James gives us a picture of the life of prayer. In this last episode, I will read through the book with a few comments, encouraging you to listen, learn and more importantly lean in, one last time...with the prayer....God, make my life a prayer to you!

Send me a Text Message!In Romans 8 we find that creation groans, (travails) we groan, even the Spirit of God groans in expectancy. See when we dive into the gospel and begin to understand the glory that awaits those who believe in Christ, we can't help but groan for those who don't. The gospel causes us to groan for the redemption of all creation. It causes us to travail for the salvation of all people. It causes to groan for glory to be revealed in our families, on our campus, in our city. So let me ask you, "Are we willing to travail in prayer? Travailing prayer is not something you just work up. It requires hope, humility and hunger. Which one needs the most work in you; hope, humility or hunger? 

Send me a Text Message!In this episode we are going to talk about a type of prayer that I believe is urgently important in our day. I believe that God is stirring up people globally and locally, a fresh move of God on the way. But I think He is still looking for people who will travail in prayer. I must have 100 books on prayer. Only a few of those written in the last 2-3 decades have even a chapter on travailing prayer. If you want to read about travailing prayer you have to go to the old books birthed in revival. And yet, the Bible is filled with examples of people who wrestled with God, travailed, groaned and cried out in prayer to see God's purposes birthed in their lives and the world around them. So I have to ask us, Who are the people in our day who will travail in prayer?

Send me a Text Message!How can I get God's attention? That seems like an important question when it comes to prayer right? If I want to be a person whose prayers produce great results, I think I need to be a person who can get God's attention. This episode will give us a picture of the people whom God goes out of his way to give them His attention.If you have ever asked the question, "How can I get God's attention?" the answer is "Be a tsaddiqim." What's that? Listen and find out.

Send me a Text Message!That's my question, well one of my questions in this episode, "Does prayer matter if God doesn't care?" I think most of us listening, believe that God could do what we've prayed for, but we have some problem believing that He would. In other words, we're not sure if God cares. And let's be honest, prayer is just shouting in the darkness if God doesn't care.But at the risk of giving it away, I'll simply say this, "God cares." In this episode and the next we'll talk abit about what God cares about.

Send me a Text Message!Are you connected? There are so many things in this world that can cause us to disconnect and isolate. But together is better. Thta's the message of James, over and over and over again. The heart behind his words to the scattered is simply,  "Together is better." It is. Together is better. To the scattered, do everything you can to preserve together. Don't get scattered in hard times. Don't suffer alone. Pray with others. Don't let hard times scatter us. If you are going through a difficult time, don't just take it to God, take it to God together. Because, say it with me one more time, "Together is better!"

Send me a Text Message!Jon Ortberg tells about the time they moved from southern California to Chicago. They spent a lot of time with their kids, just talking through the difficulties of moving. One night, after several months in Chicago, Jon was tucking his daughterin. She had been getting into more trouble than usual but he hadn't connected the dots. That night, the dam burst and tears spilt out.  "Daddy, it's so hard living here, nobody knows me.  I go to a new church, a new school, and everybody already seems to have friends. I don't belong. I don't have anyone I can talk to, nobody wants to have lunch with me. Daddy, I feel like a little mouse that doesn't have a hole."Maybe you can relate? It's not so much about having a hole as it is having a community. And community is such a major part of our life of prayer. So my question is, "Are you connected?"

Send me a Text Message!In James 5, James introduces us to one of his spiritual heroes. (At least that's how I view what's taking place.) Elijah was just as human as we were but look at what God did through him, through his prayers. In this episode we are going to find that while Elijah was looking for a miracle...the miracle God chose to give him was community, a connection.Are you connected? When times are tough, together is better!

Send me a Text Message!A life of prayer is not just about we speak, it's about what we hear. When it comes to a thriving life of prayer, the word of God is the first word. Our prayers are the second word. Our best prayers come in response to His Words. James mentions the man Elijah in James 5 and Elijah heard the still small voice of God. So let me ask, if God was whispering to you, could you hear him?  What if we can best find the presence of God in the stillness? If so, then maybe we should stop Looking for God where He is not.Can you hear God's whisper?

Send me a Text Message!So if you listened to the last episode, you know what this one is. It's the audio from my message at Calvary last Sunday (August 17). By the way if you listen as these drop, today is my birthday and like I said in the last episode, Lynn and I are taking a few days away this week for a little bit of r&r before we dive into the fall season!But my message from Haggai fits a theme in James 5, the theme of persevering, and finishing well. In chapter 1 & 2, Haggai talks about former glory and future glory. At the end of message I give a generosity challenge and a prayer challenge, no matter where you live, I hope you will find a way to join me in both.And I pray that the CWOW prayer that I leave with you, will become part of your prayer life! A CWOW prayer for future glory!